Pyrroles is not a condition; It is a symptom

Hi everyone..

I hope you’re all keeping warm and enjoying the school holidays.
Today i wanted to take a few moments to talk to you about this condition that everyone seems to be talking about at the moment, Pyrroles.
Pyrroles is not a new thing in my clinic, and but i do find it interesting that it seems to be the latest ‘buzz word’ in the industry- along with ‘methylation’, ‘genomics’, and ‘leaky gut’.

Sigh.. Whilst all of these are very helpful tests and tools to shine a light along the path to recovery, i want to point out that not one of these are an actual condition, but rather a sign that a particular process in the body is not working as well as it should.
To look at, say, Pyrroles, as an actual condition that you can treat with B6, Zinc etc.. is very much the Medical model. From a Naturopathic standpoint, if you have elevated levels of Pyrroles in your system, then there is something causing this to occur- gut dysbiosis or infection; toxicity; prolonged emotional upheaval, etc..

Pyrroles themselves are a toxin that every single person makes in their body when they convert Iron into Haemoglobin, and the liver then uses B6, Zinc and other nutrients to help clear this toxin. If this toxin is too elevated for too long, then our body can become deficient in these detoxifying nutrients… and it is the deficiency in them which can cause imbalances in our body- hormones, Serotonin, Melatonin, GABA, immunity, detoxification, digestion.. etc…

But maybe read that paragraph back to yourself again, and look for the most important statement that is all too often missed in ‘Pyrroles treatment’ – The detoxification of this toxin is done in the liver, meaning that if your liver is under burden from any other means, you have a higher chance of elevated pyrroles in your system!
So what exactly and i trying to say here?? Well, to put it simply, the good old Naturopathic approach of treating a person as a whole is shining brightly as a winner! But look deeper and its also important to work through a systematic approach to the problem, and be careful to not just treat a positive result for Pyrroles, or even other test results for that matter!

Of course it is important get a baseline on a pyrroles reading, because without adequate levels of B6 and Zinc, the body wont be able to: Maintain a good pH for digestion; create sound gut mucosal linings; generate the right neuroendocrines to help stabilise mood, hormones and sleep (all crucial to enough Secretory IgA to close over that ‘leaky gut’ mucosal and reduce histamine)… the list goes on and on…

However at this stage the actual person(!) needs to be assessed, along with their environment, work, emotional health..etc etc… in order to reduce toxic load, nutritional deficiencies or other issues. Why has their pyrrole level gone up? Was it genetic? Was it acquired due to the malabsorption of minerals and nutrients due to a food intolerance? An infection? Poor diet? Too much Stress? Or plain old toxicity?? This is where the incessant need to read test after test by practitioners needs to take a back seat for a while. Sorry.. we all know i am always up for some sound Pathology results to prove a case, but if any of the above is occurring it is always, and i mean ALWAYS a waste of time to look at things like hormones (for example).

The take home message from my weekend ramble?? My motto in clinic is “If in doubt, take it back to the way nature intended”. . and this is what i also urge you to do. If you suspect an imbalance in any of the above, educate yourself about the possibilities of why? What can be done to rebalance you as a person? Naturally, seek the advice of someone who knows what they are on about if it all gets too much for you.. but try and remember that ‘treating pyrroles’ is not actually treating anything- it is merely improving your ability to metabolise the pyrrole toxins out, more of a support mechanism. Find the cause. Treat that.